Where to begin with another losing road trip, tons of Mets road kill all around so lets hit it:

Johan Santana threw his heart and soul into yesterday’s game. It wasn’t pretty but like I’ve said before, sometime the game where your pitcher doesn’t have his best stuff and still finds a way to be effective is as impressive as a 3 hit shutout. But it seems all Santana’ starts end with a no-decision for him and a bullpen induced loss for the Mets.

After the game Jerry Manuel was asked about his bullpen and said it may be time to look for other options, well yeah Jerry since most of your relievers arms are ready to fall off and it’s only June. It’s not like we didn’t see this coming. Check out this graph by Justin Bopp of Beyond the Boxscore that shows the average number of relief appearances by all MLB teams. Of course the Mets lead all of baseball in use of relievers and one of Manuel’s big faults is he has absolutely no clue on how to run a bullpen.

Manuel threw a fit about keeping Jenry Mejia on the team saying he needed this kid’ electric arm in the pen. Fine, but Manuel has no idea how to use him. At first Mejia was to be the set up man for Frankie Rodriguez because Kelvin Escobar the guy with the sore arm that Omar Minaya signed over the winter for the job came up with a sore arm. Go figure?

But Manuel decided that the role of set up was too much for the 20 year old Mejia so when Pedro Feliciano screamed PICK ME! PICK ME! Manuel did but then felt Felicano was better served in a situational role. That led to Fernando Nieve getting the nod and he did well for a while until he was used everyday and his arm turned to overcooked linguine. Then Ryaota Igarashi took over the roll or did Igarashi come before Nieve I don’t know, I’m as confused as Jerry Manuel, but anyway, Igarashi was the set up guy until he pulled a hammy. Now all I’ve heard about Japanese baseball players is their dedication to conditioning but leave it to the Mets to find the one slacker in all of Japanese baseball but then again the Mets training staff could help itself by watching some tapes of Jack LaLane. Now the set up role has fallen on Old Uncle Elmer Dessens, the released, DFA, minor league contract, scrap heap pitcher from Mexico. Maybe Uncle Elmer can do the job with his combo special of fastball/slider and if he doesn’t, I’m sure Jerry Manuel can find another sacrificial arm to offer up.

I, like the majority of Mets fans wish the team would have left Jenry Mejia in the minors to work on his craft and blossom but if you’re going to keep him here why not let him be the set up man? His walk rate is high but he throws gas and gets tons of ground ball outs then add in the fact you’ve already screwed him over this season and ruined a year of his development, why not?  What could happen? Failure? Shit we’re used to that by now around here. Last night as Adrian Gonzalez’ Granny was sailing over the left field wall I had no emotion at all. This is what it’s come down to, the Mets lose on a walk off Grand Slam home run and my reaction is “Honey? Is dinner ready”?

I have a feeling that by this afternoon, Ollie Perez will accept an assignment to either Buffalo or St. Lonesome. The heat is on Scott Boras more than Ollie to make this move as Ollie isn’t smart enough to know what damage he is doing to his team and his reputation but Boras isn’t a dummy, he knows Perez needs to do this and with players coming out voicing their resentment to his selfishness and that guys at MLB Network speaking out in unison that Perez is a selfish prick, and the fact that the mere site of #46 in the bullpen will incite the crowd at $tit Field, it’s in everyone’s best interest, Perez, Boras, General Manager Jeffey Skill Sets, to bring this distraction to a close.    

Just like last year the Mets can’t make up their mind about putting a player on the DL. This time is Luis Castillo and his bad feet. We’ve been hearing for about two weeks that Castillo has foot problems and to the Gimps credit he has hung in there without much production but he’s a real (broken down) trooper but it seems like a trip to the DL is in his immediate future so who gets the call? It looked like Daniel Murphy but last night he was helped off the field in Buffalo with a knee injury after getting knocked over at 2^nd base, then there is scuttlebutt that Jesus is coming. Fleiciano that is but he’s not an infielder (could this be the end of GMJ? Please say it’s so GM Jeffey) so look for Ruben Tejada to get the recall notice and that’s fine with me but how about a really bold move and letting Reese Havens get a chance? How great would it be to have Ike Davis and Reese Havens, two former Brooklyn Cyclones make up half the infield?

By the way how much do you think the Mets fortunes would be different if David Eckstein played for the Mets?

What more can be said about what happened last night in Detroit? I’d have to think that Jim Joyce was of sound mind and knew he was in the middle of history here. It wasn’t even a difficult call, Jason Donald was so out that he couldn’t believe he was called safe. All the name calling of Joyce is all emotion and Joyce later admitted he blew the call and Armado Galarraga’s moment of fame but this is becoming a very serious issue for MLB. Last post season we saw umpires screw up badly and that has carried over to the 2010 regular season as well. Joe West and Mark Buehrle, Angel Hernandez the other night with no clue of what the strike zone was during the Rays-Blue Jays game. Bill Hohn tossing Roy Oswalt in the third inning of his start, it’s Umpires Gone Wild. Time for The Used Car Salesman to let Mike Port flex some muscle and start suspending these umpires and get some of the old goats an incentive package to retire and then stay true to the evaluation process and ban some of these incompetent ass’ from working in the post season.        

I have been so unbelievably busy between blogging here and doing my This Call To The Bullpen Radio Show and getting ready to cheer on the Boston Celtics to Banner 18 and doing my job that pays me in real money and benefits that I’ve been looking to hire an assistant to help me out with some of my daily tasks and after reading this story in today’s NY Post I’m hoping Ms. Debralee Lorenzana sends me her resume as I would really, REALLY love to hire her for the position any position, all positions, missionary position. If you want to be accepted for who you are Ms. Lorenzana, you’ve come to the right place, you will welcomed with open arms.

 

The All Star break is over and we head for the second half of the season tonight on Pro Baseball Central we will discuss the Mets disappointing first half and what direction this team needs to take which  is one of the great complex question of our time, plus we will monitor the Mets-Braves game live. We will also talk about the NY Highlanders with our guest Rebecca Glass the author of the Highlander blog This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes. Join us live at 9PM EDST on Blog Talk Radio live or listen to the podcast at your leisure at our site or right here at TEKS.

 

After The Used Car Salesman ranted and raved about Manny Ramirez going to the bushes to get in shape before ending his 50 game sentence the Phillies after signing Petey to a $1.5 mil deal was placed on the 15 day DL with a “strained (wink-wink, nod-nod) shoulder. This was done because Petey wouldn’t sign a minor league deal so the Phills skirted the issue with the bogus DL placement. Am I a bitter jilted Mets fan? YES. Yes I am. I’m not rational when it comes with Petey going to the Cheesesteakers I’m the jilted lover who will now try to make his life miserable.

 

Matt Wise Tim Redding  will start the season cashing paychecks at the 24 check cashing at Pt. St Lonesome as he is experiencing “shoulder discomfort”,<wink, wink, nod, nod> so he will stay behind in extended spring training to work out his “shoulder discomfort <wink, wink, nod, nod> Whatever is wrong with his shoulder doesn’t seem to efect him picking up a knife and fork as to my eyes Redding is closing in on fat bastard status not far far from the unflatering fat fuck lable.

Who gains from this? Well, Bobby Parnell, Darren O’Day, and  Brian Stokes who look like they will make up the front of the bullpen

Randy Wolf (MLB Headshots)

With a nod to Duran Duran, the Mets have opened up to free agent Randy Wolf in order to fill the void in the rotation.

According to Marty Noble, Wolf acknowledged that interest and is also intrigued about returning to the northeast.

As you may remember, Wolf, 32, spawned the Wolf Pack in Philly where a group of fans would wear werewolf masks when he pitched. Hopefully that doesn’t come to Citi Field.

Wold pitched for San Diego and Houston last season and went 12-12 with a 4.30 ERA, but was 6-2 with a 3.57 ERA with the Astros.